Irish Setter w/ bowel problem

Question
Hello- I saw a previous post with another person who has an Irish setter/Lab mix and sounds like she is having a similar problem to ours.  We rescued our 12 month old Irish Remi 2 1/2 mos ago weighing in at only 45 lbs when he should be 65-70.  In the first 2 weeks he gained 5.2 lbs and then suddenly took a turn for the worse and it has been everything we can do to maintian 49-50 lbs.  Like the other dog Ari, he was treated for Giardia with Flagyl ( a 5 day course and then a 10 day course) as well as Panacure on several occassions to rule out whips etc... .  He is gassy and has unpredictable bowels.  90% of the time it strikes in the middle of the night around 3-4 a.m..  When we rush him outside he takes anormal poop then once back inside the terrible stomach noises start i.e. popping squeeking gurgling.  It is awful for him and we know we are in for a long night with several trips back outside and a series of poops that will ultimately end up with blood and mucus in them.  I have tried homemade bland foods,  just chicken and rice, venison and rice etc... .  I questioned the quality of our dog food which was ProPet Lamb and rice from Southern States.  Come to find out is a sub-standard food with corn meal, brewers rice and corn gluten as it's 2nd, 4th and 5th ingrediants.  What confuses me is the rapid weight gain when we first got him (I was feeding him INNOVA EVO large bites combined with pasta).  Then I thought he was turning his nose up at that food so I changed him over to the ProPet just to keep him gaining.  We are exhausted all of the time and the vet bills are adding up.  I have already spent 6K on chemotherapy for another rescue setter I lost in July and my resources are running low.  The endiscopy and the costs truly alarm me but I DO realize that may be what I have to do.  If you have anythoughts I would welcome them.  The most confusing part of this for me is why did he start off so well with his weight gain?  

Thanks-Leslie & Remi in DE

Answer
Hello Leslie,

First, let me say how sorry I am that you and Remi are dealing with this difficult problem.  I have a client right this moment with almost the exact same history and symptoms - except in her case the dog had coccidia along with the Giardia, and is also a puppy. Even after treatment and subsequent re-testing that states he is clear, he suffers intermittent and sometiems severe diarrhea similar to what you describe. Nutritionally I have resorted time and again to white rice and boiled turkey (we are now using rabbit) to clear up symptoms -  but the problem is not yet resolved. It can take a real team effort including your vet, a speciailist, and nutritional guidance to manage colitis/IBD. I am very sorry you're facing this problem right now. Sounds like you have already been through enough.

Now - the good news. :)  There are still approaches you haven't tried. What I would be likely to do with this dog, professionally, would be to start on a limited ingredient, novel diet - with restricted fat and NO gluten - just for two weeks. Ordinarily I'd go much longer, but given  that his nutritional status right now is so poor I'd just do two weeks; then systematically begin adding in new foods and supplements. I'd expedite this process as much as possible in order to build overall health as well as control symptoms. Fiber and fat levels will need to be precise and oftentimes I have to adjust several times until we fnd the composition that works for your individual dog.

The goal would be to have Remi on a home made cooked diet that both controls his symptoms and also provides truly optimal nutrition. However, , at this point the scope is probably going to be necessary. Neither I nor any reputable consultant will be able to help fully in the absence of a diagnosis. If there is still a giardia presence, diet can not do a whole lot.

I'd like to add that several supplements can be extremely helpful in these cases, but I don't recommend just adding them willy nilly. Probiotics are helpful in many cases, but I like to start off with a very simple strain,and see how he reacts. L-glutamine has been shown to have powerful healing effects on the gut, and slippery elm is a safe and time honoured remedy for bowel complaints.  However, the diet really is the foundation upon which all else builds, and you need to get that squared away first. What I have been describing thus far is an ideal situation, one in which you are able to work with an experienced guide toward nutritional excellence. I do understand this is an ideal situation and for many reasons may not be feasible for you at this time. (Just the cooking itself is so time consuming; I have two healthy dogs and making their food for a week takes the better part of Saturday afternoon.) In case home cooking is not an option, you might look at trying a different approach in terms of commercial diet. Although you say Remi did well on EVO with pasta, I wouldn't be inclined toward using that diet again - for two reasons: higher fat content in the EVO, and gluten in the (wheat) pasta. Both of these can pose problems for the sensitive dog. I've listed a few comemrcial foods below I think you may find helpful;  of course I can't say in advance which one (or if any) will help, but they are all worth a try.

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/VenDog.html

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_wellness_simple_food_solutions_index.html


http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/default.asp?id=3

Of course I have criticisms of all these foods <g> but then, that's what I do. In cases like Remi's I think it's important to balance one's theories about nutrition with the reaction of the actual dog; in other words, I may not like to see gluten in a canine diet, but if your dog improves on a food that contains some barley I am hardly going to complain! There are other foods worth looking into as well, but these three may give you a starting point.

If you wish to discuss a home made protocol, please contact me privately. If not, we can continue to explore options here. I want you to know that professional guidance is available, but in no way am I pushing it. Your next step might well be to try a sensitive food and get that scope over with. I'll do what I can to help either way.
All the best, Catherine